Shock-absorbing snowboard attachment device

ABSTRACT

Base for a binding device for attaching a boot to a snowboard, said base having a shock-absorbing portion ( 2 ) that can move relative to the rest ( 9 ) of the base in order to damp the forces exerted on the top surface of the base.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a base for a binding device for attaching a boot to a snowboard, said base being furnished with a shock-absorbing means. It also relates to a binding device for attaching a boot to a snowboard and a snowboard comprising such a binding device. Finally, it also relates to a method for manufacturing such a binding device.

Description of the Prior Art

Usually, the devices for attaching a boot to a snowboard comprise a substantially horizontal base made of rigid plastic, comprising a means of attachment to a snowboard in its central portion, usually allowing an adjustable orientation. This base is designed to receive the pressure of a snowboard boot on its top surface. In order to keep the boot on the snowboard, the base comprises two vertical lateral walls representing elements for retaining the lateral and medial surfaces of the boot. In addition, several straps extend from one vertical wall to the other gripping the top of the boot in order to form a vertical retention of the boot, thereby holding it pressed on the base. At the rear of the device, there is a rear retention element, also called a “spoiler”. In order to provide a shock-absorbing effect of the attachment device to attenuate the shocks felt by the snowboarder, it is known practice to have a thickness of foam beneath the whole bottom surface of the base of the attachment device. As a variant, a layer of foam may be placed on the top surface of the base in order to accommodate the pressure of the boot. In the latter case, the foam is visible and furnished with decorative elements. These solutions are however unsatisfactory because they inevitably require the addition of a foam element, which increases the complexity and the cost of the method for manufacturing the attachment device. In addition, the foam provides a very limited and insufficient shock-absorbing effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A general aim of the present invention therefore consists in a device for attaching a boot to a snowboard, said device being furnished with a shock-absorbing means that is simplified and less costly.

Accordingly, the invention is based on a base for a device for attaching a boot to a snowboard, wherein said base has a shock-absorbing portion that can move relative to the rest of the base in order to damp the forces and absorb the shocks exerted on the top surface of the base.

The invention is more precisely defined by the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These subjects, features and advantages of the present invention will be explained in detail in the following description of a particular embodiment made in a nonlimiting manner with respect to the attached figures, among which:

FIG. 1 represents a top view of a base of a device for attaching a boot to a snowboard according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 represents a side view of the base of the device for attaching a boot to a snowboard according to the embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 represent respectively views in perspective from above and from below of the base of the device for attaching a boot to a snowboard according to the embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The binding device for attaching a snowboard boot according to the invention comprises a particular base, with which the usual elements of boot-attachment devices are associated. Therefore, this base is compatible with the various existing configurations of devices for attaching a snowboard boot. In the rest of the description, use will be made of the definition of the longitudinal direction x for the horizontal direction substantially defined by the position of the foot, from back to front, and of the transverse direction y for the perpendicular horizontal direction.

According to the concept of the invention, the base of the device for attaching a boot comprises at least one portion which is connected to the rest of the base via a flexible boundary, so as to make it possible to move the portion in question relative to the rest of the base, in order to damp the forces, absorb the shocks, transmitted by a user on this portion. Advantageously, this shock-absorbing portion is placed in the zones of the base receiving the greatest pressures of the snowboarder's foot, such as beneath the heel at the rear of the base and/or beneath the front portion of the foot.

The figures illustrate more particularly one embodiment of the invention in which the rear portion 2 of the base 1, intended to receive the heel of a boot, is separated from the rest 9 of the base by two substantially longitudinal lateral notches 3 and represents a shock-absorbing portion of the base. This configuration makes it possible to furnish this rear portion 2 of the base with a flexibility of movement, close to a rotation about a transverse axis 4 positioned toward the front end of the notches 3, relative to the rest of the base. This shock-absorbing portion 2 is therefore separated from the rest 9 of the base by a boundary zone formed by the two notches 3 and the transverse axis connecting the rear portions of these notches and materialized by the axis 4.

Moreover, the bottom surface 5 of the rear shock-absorbing portion 2 of the base occupies at rest a higher position than the surface 10 of the snowboard. For this, in this embodiment, the bottom surface 5 occupies at rest a higher position than the lowest portion 7 of the base. This lowest portion 7 extends from the central portion of the base, at its connection zone 8 provided for resting directly on the surface of a snowboard 10, to the front portion as is shown schematically in FIG. 2.

In this embodiment, the bottom surface 5 of the rear portion 2 of the base has a slight upward gradient so that the rear end 6 of this surface is above the surface of a snowboard by a height h of approximately 5 millimeters. As a variant, a height of a few millimeters of the shock-absorbing portion of the base above the surface of the snowboard 10 could be suitable, since it would be provided with a freedom of movement because of the space placed between its bottom surface and the top surface of the snowboard. A height of between 3 and 10 millimeters would be suitable. As a variant, the bottom surface of the shock-absorbing portion could be substantially parallel to the snowboard. It is necessarily detached from the surface of the snowboard, not in contact with this surface of the snowboard in its rest position, in order to be furnished with a degree of freedom of downward movement in order to fulfill its function of absorbing the forces.

Therefore, when a user has binded its boot on this binding device and begins a descent, he will transmit considerable forces to the base, notably via his heel. These forces will cause deformations of the rear portion 2 of the base, situated directly beneath the heel, which will sink in under the considerable forces sustained, notably during shocks, jumps, cornering, etc., then revert to its natural position in an oscillating movement depending on the elastic properties of the material it uses. These movements and oscillations will therefore make it possible to fulfill a function of absorbing the shock of the forces transmitted by the snowboarder, who will feel less pain notably in his knees.

The base of the invention may be in a rigid or semi-rigid material similar to the materials used in the prior art, for example made of fiber-laden plastic or even made of metal or of rigid unladen plastic. As a variant, other rigid materials may be used. What is meant by the shock-absorbing portion of the base is a portion made of this rigid or semi-rigid material, extending over the whole thickness of the base, and not, for example, simply a superficial layer of foam that has been added. To amplify the technical effect obtained, it is possible to envisage that the shock-absorbing portion and the rest of the base are made of a different material. For example, such a structure could be obtained by a double injection of plastic, the shock-absorbing portion being in a material that is less rigid than the rest of the base.

Naturally, the shock-absorbing effect has been obtained by the two notches 3 shown as examples. There are other possible forms and/or other numbers of notches to obtain similar effects. For example, the notches could be curved. It is also possible to imagine a single notch in a substantially transverse direction, partially adopting the axis 4 for example.

As a variant, it is possible to produce a single longitudinal notch in order to form a dissymmetric shock-absorbing solution.

According to an additional variant not shown, it is possible to obtain this effect of separating a portion of the base by a means other than a notch, for example by a thinner zone, or an elastic strip separating two portions of the base. In any case, a so-called shock-absorbing portion of the base will be at least partially separated from the rest of the base by an intermediate zone called a boundary, so as to allow a movement, a bending, of the shock-absorbing portion relative to the rest of the base. Therefore, this boundary, which corresponds to the contour of the shock-absorbing portion, may be achieved by a zone generally comprising less rigid material, either in its thickness, whether through notches, apertures, or thin zones, or by a particular geometry allowing the shock-absorbing portion to be connected by a small amount of rigid material to the rest 9 of the base, or by the use of a more flexible material, in order to allow it to fulfill its shock-absorbing function.

According to another variant embodiment of the invention, the separation of the base may relate to the front portion of the base, situated beneath the metatarsal phalangeal joint, where the front pressure of a foot is applied. According to another variant, it may relate to lateral zones of the base, allowing it to promote the roll effect in order to provide more mobility and shock-absorbing in the lateral direction.

Naturally, the concept of the invention may be combined with other solutions that exist in the prior art. It is for example possible to have one or more layers of foam or any other elastic material, such as rubber for example, between the shock-absorbing portion of the base and the surface of the snowboard, without departing from the concept of the invention. In such a situation, simple, small-dimension strips of foam may suffice. Moreover, since this foam is hidden and invisible, it does not need to have a very sophisticated esthetic appearance. Such a presence of foam may, for example, have the advantage of preventing any shock of the shock-absorbing portion directly on the surface of the snowboard. These solutions with foam may therefore make it possible to obtain a satisfactory result with a small quantity of foam. Naturally, it is possible to add a thickness of foam to the surface of the base, notably to the top surface of the shock-absorbing portion, in order to add an additional element of comfort, without departing from the concept of the invention.

The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a base of a snowboard-attachment device, which may comprise a step of producing a boundary between two portions of the base. This step may consist in cutting out at least one notch. 

1. A base for a binding device for attaching a boot to a snowboard, wherein said base has a shock-absorbing portion (2) that can move relative to the rest (9) of the base in order to absorb the shocks exerted on the top surface of the base, this shock-absorbing portion (2) being separated from the rest (9) of the base by a boundary comprising at least one notch (3) allowing a bending movement of the shock-absorbing portion (2) relative to the rest of the base.
 2. The base as claimed in claim 1, wherein the boundary comprises two notches (3) placed in the lateral zones of the base and extending in a longitudinal direction.
 3. The base as claimed in claim 1, wherein the boundary comprises at least one deformable strip.
 4. The base as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom surface (5) of the shock-absorbing portion is above the lowest surface of the base, so that the shock-absorbing portion is capable of downward movement following forces exerted on its top surface.
 5. The base as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shock-absorbing portion (2) corresponds to the rear zone capable of receiving the heel and/or to the front zone capable of receiving the metatarsal phalangeal joint and/or to a lateral zone.
 6. The base as claimed in claim 1, wherein a layer of foam is placed on at least a portion of its top surface.
 7. A binding device for attaching a boot to a snowboard, said device comprising a base as claimed in claim
 1. 8. A snowboard, said snowboard comprising a binding device for attaching a boot comprising a base as claimed in claim
 1. 9. The snowboard as claimed in claim 8, wherein the bottom surface (5) of the shock-absorbing portion (2) is placed at least a few millimeters above the surface (10) of the snowboard.
 10. The snowboard as claimed in claim 9, wherein the highest portion of the bottom surface (5) of the shock-absorbing portion (2) is placed between 3 and 10 millimeters above the surface of the snowboard.
 11. The snowboard as claimed in claim 8, wherein the lowest portion (7) of the base comprises the central portion (8) connected to the snowboard, and wherein the shock-absorbing portion (2) is the rear portion and/or the front portion of the base.
 12. The snowboard as claimed in claim 11, wherein the bottom surface (5) of the shock-absorbing portion (2) has a gradient relative to the surface of the snowboard, its highest portion being toward the front and/or rear end (6) of the base.
 13. The snowboard as claimed in claim 8, wherein a shock-absorbing element of the foam or rubber type is placed between the shock-absorbing portion (2) of the base and the snowboard. 